BUFORD, Ga. — Buford coach Wes Parker is the first to admit that his group of Wolves lack size. But when you can get 20 3-pointers from five different players, who needs it.
The Wolves used a first half barrage from 3-point range to take control against Collins Hill and then pulled away in the second half for an impressive 86-49 rout in Region 8-7A action Tuesday night at The Buford Arena.
“What that says to me is that we’re sharing the ball and we’re passing up good shots for great shots,” Parker said. “That was fun to watch. We’ve had nights when we didn’t shoot it well so you always like to see that.
“But what Chase (Robinson) did was just unbelievable. He had the hot hand and his teammates found him.”
Robinson, a senior, exploded for 7 3-pointers in the fourth quarter without a miss, and finished with 10 treys and a career-high 30 points to pace Buford.
“The coaches tell us to keep shooting and the guys just found me,” Robinson said. “I definitely was feeling it there, especially in the fourth quarter. It was crazy!”
Buford (16-3, 4-0 Region 8-7A) came in as the only unbeaten team left in region play with a chance for the Eagles to pull into a first-place tie. Robinson, Brennan Wansley, Asa Williams, and Jackson Houston had other plans. The foursome combined to hit eight 3-pointers in the first half and Dillon Nixon added one in the final seconds of the first half as Buford was a blistering 9-of-13 from 3-point range in the half.
The Wolves trailed 6-4 early after trading baskets with the Eagles. From there, it was bombs away for Buford.
Robinson gave Buford a 7-6 lead with his second trey and Wansley hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 15-8 late in the first quarter.
Collins Hill rallied to within 17-14 by the end of the opening frame but Houston and Williams drained 3-pointers as part of a 10-0 run to open the second for a 27-14 lead. Houston would hit his second trey moments later, Williams hit another long 3-pointer a minute after that, and Nixon’s trey gave the Wolves a 38-20 lead.
Nixon opened the second half with a 3-pointer and Buford pushed its lead to 60-39 heading into the fourth as Robinson and Williams each added one more. It was the Robinson show in the fourth as he scored 21 of the Wolves 26 points.
Houston finished with 15 points and Nixon and Williams each had 11 points for Buford. Wansley had 10 points for the Wolves.
Javyn Smith had 16 points to lead Collins Hill (12-7, 2-2 Region 8-7A).
Parker said he likes where his group is right now after their fifth straight win.
“These guys have fun together and love to play together. There are always things to get better on but I like the way we’re playing right now,” he said.
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